Introduction

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar were two key figures in India’s independence movement. M.K. Gandhi is viewed as the “father of India,” and is famous for his non-violent protest methods.^[1] Meanwhile, Ambedkar is known for his efforts to abolish millennia-old caste-based discrimination, with his efforts yielding political protection of the lowest Hindu caste. Ambedkar is considered second only to Gandhi.^[2] Thus, when exploring India’s freedom struggle and the establishment of contemporary India, the visions of Gandhi and Ambedkar are preeminent. As exhibited in their respective works, Hind Swaraj and Annihilation of Caste, both Gandhi and Ambedkar rejected political freedom as an end in itself. They did not believe that independence from British rule would truly free India. That said, as elaborated throughout this article, their understandings of true freedom differed. Gandhi asserted that to achieve true freedom, India must also achieve social freedom by ridding itself of British institutions and returning to its own moral values, including its caste system. While Ambedkar agreed that social freedom is crucial to attaining true freedom, he supported Western morals and reasoned that to achieve social freedom, the caste system must be abolished.

Gandhi’s Vision: Eliminating British Institutions and Western Ideals

Gandhi believed that constitutional independence in the form of home rule was not true freedom, since India would still be enslaved to British institutions. To illustrate, he stated, “You would make India English, and when it becomes English, it will be called not Hindustan but Englistan. That is not the Swaraj that I want.”^[3] Gandhi viewed self-government as insufficient, arguing that British exploitation of India would persist, for, like a tiger, the British cannot change their nature.^[4] He asserted that by replacing British rulers with Indian ones, India would not achieve real swaraj as it would have self-rule but not good government.^[5] Expanding on his opposition to British rule, Gandhi asserts industrialization has made workers’ conditions worse than beasts; he believes, instead of enhancing quality of life, British ‘civilization’ merely transitioned the populace from being enslaved by physical compulsion to enslaved by “the temptation of money…and …luxuries.”^[6] Gandhi believes that a truly free India requires self-rule, not home-rule, asserting that India must be independent like Japan, with its own flag, navy, army, and glory.^[7]

In addition to his rejection of Western civilization and its materialism, Gandhi also presents his vision of a truly free India as secular and united. His support for interfaith unity is showcased as he asserts that both Islam and Hinduism oppose British civilization, with Islam deeming it Satanic, while Hinduism terms it “the Black Age.”^[8] Gandhi’s consideration of India as home to many faiths is echoed as he argues that, under British rule, irrespective of religion, India has turned away from God.^[9] Importantly, Gandhi asserts that “India cannot cease to be one nation because people belonging to different religions live in it.”^[10] This argument further highlights his view that a truly free India would be home to unity that transcends religious divisions.

Moreover, Gandhi’s vision of a free India involved personal transformation that would develop the capacity for complete independence.^[11] He believed that to achieve true freedom, political independence must be accompanied by morality and spiritual self-discipline.^[12] In line with his support for spiritual discipline, Gandhi supported the caste system. He opposed the historical notion of caste and opposed untouchability, but he considered the caste system as vital to the Hindu Dharma and worked to preserve it.^[13] Gandhi defended the varna system – the division of Hindu society into four castes – asserting that this spiritual division of labour sets out an ancestral calling for each group that forms an ideal civilization.^[14] However, this view of caste did not convince Anti-Caste leaders, such as B.R. Ambedkar.^[15]

Ambedkar’s Vision: Abolishing Caste & Beneficial Aspects of Western Society

In contrast to Gandhi’s support for the caste system, Ambedkar regarded caste as the most enduring barrier to social and moral freedom. In his work, Annihilation of Caste, Ambedkar asserted that without social equality, political freedom would only replace British domination with Brahminical domination.^[16] To emphasize the need for social reform, Ambedkar provided various cases of higher-class Hindus discriminating against the untouchable community, equating the treatment to “tyranny.”^[17] He criticized Hindu reformers who, similarly to Gandhi, discussed reforming Hindu traditions such as widow remarriage and child marriage, while ignoring the structural issue of caste.^[18] Ambedkar similarly critiqued the Arya Samaj’s shuddhi campaign, which was implemented to increase conversion to Hinduism, stating that shuddhi would be “both a folly and a futility” unless caste is first abolished.^[19] In presenting the struggles faced by lower classes, Ambedkar argued that without abolishing caste, unifying the nation is impossible.^[20] He declared that since each caste eats, marries, and dines within itself, India can never truly form one nation.^[21] He further asserted that social reform is required for India to succeed economically. Unlike Gandhi’s support for choosing occupations based on the Varna system, Ambedkar deems caste-based occupations economically inefficient, arguing that when people are forced to choose occupations based on their caste, “their hearts nor their minds are in their work.”^[22]

Unlike Gandhi, Ambedkar considered certain elements of Western society moral models, as he invoked European examples to support his argument for social reform.^[23] For instance, Ambedkar reasoned that, like in Rome, where the Constitution took into account the social divisions between the two castes, India must similarly address its caste-based divisions.^[24] Similarly, Ambedkar presented Ireland’s struggles for national and religious equality as a comparative case to argue that true freedom in India requires deep social transformation.^[25] Ambedkar also considered that an ideal Indian society should follow the French revolutionary values of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.”^[26] He tied his European examples to India by employing examples from the histories of Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism.^[27] In doing so, Ambedkar echoes Gandhi’s vision of India as a religiously diverse nation.

Ambedkar believed that to bring about the social reform necessary to achieve true freedom, Hinduism must undergo reforms. He contended that “It is not possible to break Caste without annihilating the religious notions on which it, the Caste system, is founded.”^[28] He proposes that traditional Hindu scriptures that condone caste – i.e. the Vedas, Shashtras, and Puranas – should be replaced by a new standard religious text.^[29] Further, Ambedkar suggested that priesthood should not be inherited; instead, he proposed it should be earned through a state examination.^[30]

Conclusion

On balance, both Gandhi and Ambedkar rejected political freedom as an end in itself, and they agreed that to achieve true freedom, social reforms must accompany political independence. However, the two thinkers differed on what these reforms must entail. Gandhi believed that to be free, Indian society must be freed of British values, and he called for a return to Indian traditions. Gandhi’s commitment to tradition included supporting the caste system as he believed that an ideal society could reap the benefits of caste-based occupational divisions while avoiding caste-based discrimination. In contrast, Ambedkar believed social freedom entailed the abolition of the caste system. Further, unlike Gandhi’s opposition to Western culture, Ambedkar used European models to support his vision of a free India. On balance, despite their differences, Gandhi and Ambedkar agree that political independence was not equivalent to true freedom. They both presented a truly free India as unified and religiously diverse, while asserting that socio-political reform is the key to India’s freedom.

Bibliography

Ambedkar, B.R. The Annihilation of Caste, 1936.

Blakemore, Erin. “How Mahatma Gandhi Changed Political Protest.” National Geographic. National Geographic, September 27, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/mahatma-gandhi-changed-political-protest.

Gandhi, M.K. (1997) 2009. Gandhi: “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings. Edited by Anthony Parel. Cambridge University Press.

Laxman, Shibi. “Gandhi: Khilafat Movement and Mass Politics.” HIS282Y1: History of South Asia. Class lecture at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 13, 2025.

Laxman, Shibi. “Many Voices of ‘Nation’: Anti-Caste and Women’s Political Participation” HIS282Y1: History of South Asia. Class lecture at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 25, 2025.

Metcalf, Barbara D, and Thomas R Metcalf. 2006. A Concise History of Modern India, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tharoor, Shashi. “Why India Today Shouldn’t Forget the Legacy of Ambedkar.” Time, May 24, 2023. https://time.com/6282089/india-today-legacy-ambedkar/.

1. Erin Blakemore, “How Mahatma Gandhi Changed Political Protest,” National Geographic (National Geographic, September 27, 2019), www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/mahatma-gandhi-changed-political-protest. ↑
2. Shashi Tharoor, “Why India Today Shouldn’t Forget the Legacy of Ambedkar,” Time, May 24, 2023, https://time.com/6282089/india-today-legacy-ambedkar/. ↑
3. M.K. Gandhi, Gandhi: “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, ed. Anthony Parel (1997; repr., Cambridge University Press, 2009), 28. ↑
4. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 27-28. ↑
5. Shibi Laxman. “Gandhi: Khilafat Movement and Mass Politics.” HIS282Y1: History of South Asia (class lecture at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 13, 2025). ↑
6. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 36. ↑
7. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 27-28, 118. ↑
8. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 37. ↑
9. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 42. ↑
10. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 52. ↑
11. Shibi Laxman. “Gandhi: Khilafat Movement and Mass Politics.” HIS282Y1: History of South Asia (class lecture at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 13, 2025). ↑
12. Shibi Laxman. “Gandhi: Khilafat Movement and Mass Politics.” HIS282Y1: History of South Asia (class lecture at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 13, 2025). ↑
13. Shibi Laxman. “Many Voices of ‘Nation’: Anti-Caste and Women’s Political Participation.” HIS282Y1: History of South Asia (class lecture at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 25, 2025); Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 68; Barbara D Metcalf and Thomas R Metcalf, A Concise History of Modern India, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 194. ↑
14. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, lxxvii, 68, 70. ↑
15. Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 68. ↑
16. B.R. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 18. ↑
17. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 12. ↑
18. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 13. ↑
19. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 22; Metcalf and Metcalf, A Concise History of Modern India, 141. ↑
20. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 18. ↑
21. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 19. ↑
22. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 17; Gandhi, “Hind Swaraj” and Other Writings, 68, 70. ↑
23. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 13-15. ↑
24. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 14. ↑
25. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 14. ↑
26. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 23-24. ↑
27. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 14. ↑
28. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 1. ↑
29. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 37. ↑
30. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, 1936, 37. ↑